omg the rumors coming true!! our ancient incantations have finally been heard!! soon the summoning will be complete and 3g will walk the earth again.
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Unlocked 3G iPhone to Launch in Italy?
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The word is "grammar"...
My generation received an education in the English language but still make many common errors, personally I'm happy to see these corrected along with the errors of others. In this way I can learn and improve.
I do find it rather ironic that since the advent of spell-checking software the quality of the written word has diminished; next you'll be saying that you never do arithmetic in you head and you always use a calculator...
Note that Italy is after Sweden and we have been snubbed by Apple so far...This is why...
Quite on the contrary. The pre paid offer and demand is stronger than ever and includes data too. Slowly but surely, Germans are adopting the re-fill system too. Contracts used to offer much cheaper calls, but pre paid cards are much cheaper now. Sure, many people still believe the marketing scam like "get this phone for 1 euro", but more and more people are learning. Prodi did nothing for the consumers in Italy or Europe, because he is a man of the banks and responds only to banks and their shareholders. And by the way Prodi is deeply involved with the birth of the Euro currency, which is killing the value of the US$ and at the same time the export economy of the entire Euro area.
Same in the UK... The providers brought it on themselves though - they pushed longer and longer contracts until some were even talking about 24 months! Then they realized it was getting harder and harder to sell any more phones because everyone was locked into contracts. In the meantime the savvy consumers had realized the scam and were buying payT phones (available off the shelf in supermarkets) by the bucket load.
It's still very much a work in progress but the longer contracts are disappearing, at least from the advertising... I see one of the local shops is offering 6 month ones now. Even I could go for that and I *hate* contracts.
Thanks to the single european market if they launch the 3g iphone unlocked in Italy it's trivial to import (no duties to pay) & they'll be on sale here unlocked within days I expect... loads of people sell the jailbroken ones of the 2.5g already.
who's in Italy?
Maybe they chose Italy rather than Australia because Italy hosts three times more people than Australia. They are interested in the number of potential calls not region sizes or number of kangaroos
-- thistle
It may be the case that Apple know that Italy has a large amount of tourists, so europe could be flooded with unlocked iPhones as well as sales to Italian folk. Tourists are likely to buy from Italy rather than buying a network locked iPhone from thier own country.
It is not the euro that is killing the value of the US$, but more the US itself. Weak oversight in the US economy enabled this whole mortgage crisis. The banks overthere subsequently offloaded these quite smartly to banks in Europe by selling them the mortgages. This way they reduced their own risk.
The reduced export from europe is a consequence of the bad exchange rate, but cannot be attributed to bad management. It is a basic economic principle.
However, Europe is doing a lot to make export itself expensive, such as protecting local markets, high VAT and too much bureaucracy, but this cannot be attributed to Prodi, but more to the countries that generate most of the legislature, which are Germany foremost, and then France and Italy...
Personally I cannot fathom how a country can have such collective amnesia that they elect a fascist and dictator like Berlusconi again, even taking into consideration that Prodi just did a bad job.
Berlusconi is propably the most idiotic and repulsive of the european mainstream politicians, but calling him dictator or facist is just ridicilous.
Maybe a bit strong formulated but check this:
regarding Dictator: creates laws to protect himself, owns most of the media in Italy. Some of the charges against him: mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges
regarding Fascisct: anyone who wants only beautiful women (meaning ugly ones stay out) in his government is not right in his head. Here is just a citation: "female politicians from the right were "more beautiful" and that "The left has no taste, even when it comes to women".
source: Wikipedia among others..
The Euro isn't killing the value of the US$,... Simply the US is making us pay for their war on terror like they like to call it!
I would like to see today countries like italy or spain or greece with their old currencies... they would be in deep trouble!
end of off topic!
iphone_I think will be unlocked and will come out for all EU countries /maybe US too. It simply made the news in Italy because it hasn't come out yet in such a high potential market where many are longing to have one. I think italians were lucky to wait a bit and get a nice 3G toy, today's iphone costs too much for what it offers and the xx months contract is really a pain for those used to pre-paid sim cards. For once Telecom Italia Mobile did the right thing
That's not entirely true. Both left and right coalitions in Italy have some good looking women and some bad looking ones. I don't think their looks should be part of a political debate. It looks like here in Germany, if a woman doesn't dress like a man she will never be taken seriously for the job
it was not a quote by me, but from Berlusconi, which is just unacceptable from a statesman .
Well, £100 off £269 is a 37% cut, that's not too shabby.
There are also the first subsidized iphones in Germany, 99€ for the 8 gig model with the most expensive plan, and up to 249€ with the cheapest plan.
Considering the temporary nature of those sales, though, I guess they're just trying to anticipate the market before announcing their new prices when the 3G model is released.
Great, but how about other network configuration?
They're in for a standard selling venture (I'm not saying the iPhone is a standard phone...but the sales will make the difference).
Don't know how it works in Italy, anybody knows?
E.g. in France, mobile phones are sold locked (except for the rare cases where you get a phone subsidised, that is not in the operator's list, in which case it's a standard unlocked phone).
In any case, phones are locked for 6 months. By law, you must have the right to pay a reasonable amount to unlock it right away (50-100 euros in the facts), and in any case, your operator is required to provide the unlock code after 6 months. Furthermore, those 6 months are "contractual months", meaning if the phone is attached to an existing contract older than 6 months, you can unlock it for free right away.
However, the issue with this consumer-protection system is that it onlu regulates the sim-locking features. But the operators fully customize the phone setup (it is especially the case for the iPhone, and even more because the visual voicemail is a specific feature). Meaning that, if you can legally unlock your phone to work with another sim card, it can be a hassle to reconfigure it to work fully with another operator (MMS, web access, live television streams...).
They're in for a standard selling venture (I'm not saying the iPhone is a standard phone...but the sales will make the difference).
Don't know how it works in Italy, anybody knows?
E.g. in France, mobile phones are sold locked (except for the rare cases where you get a phone subsidised, that is not in the operator's list, in which case it's a standard unlocked phone).
In any case, phones are locked for 6 months. By law, you must have the right to pay a reasonable amount to unlock it right away (50-100 euros in the facts), and in any case, your operator is required to provide the unlock code after 6 months. Furthermore, those 6 months are "contractual months", meaning if the phone is attached to an existing contract older than 6 months, you can unlock it for free right away.
However, the issue with this consumer-protection system is that it onlu regulates the sim-locking features. But the operators fully customize the phone setup (it is especially the case for the iPhone, and even more because the visual voicemail is a specific feature). Meaning that, if you can legally unlock your phone to work with another sim card, it can be a hassle to reconfigure it to work fully with another operator (MMS, web access, live television streams...).
I agree with you but Berlusconi is not alone. The US have been giving the world quite an example
Yes if when they come out they are unlocked which I doubt alot personally I think they will be locked to the carrier all of them.
"Originally Posted by bigmc6000
For the last time (not likely but it adds the emphasis I'm after) the Irish don't get paid in US dollars nor do the Germans nor does anyone else in Europe. I've said it before and I'll certainly have to say it again. The $1300 to an American making $50k is the exact same as (I can't find the Euro button...) 1300 Euros to someone getting paid 50k Euros. It's not about exchange rates - it's about the value of the product to the consumer."
This doesn't work for Italy. Italians depend on export and tourism. With the Euro becoming overvalued many Italians are seeing a huge reduction of wealth. In some cases I would even ay massive poverty.
For the last time (not likely but it adds the emphasis I'm after) the Irish don't get paid in US dollars nor do the Germans nor does anyone else in Europe. I've said it before and I'll certainly have to say it again. The $1300 to an American making $50k is the exact same as (I can't find the Euro button...) 1300 Euros to someone getting paid 50k Euros. It's not about exchange rates - it's about the value of the product to the consumer."
This doesn't work for Italy. Italians depend on export and tourism. With the Euro becoming overvalued many Italians are seeing a huge reduction of wealth. In some cases I would even ay massive poverty.
Bush was re-elected. I think that's all that needs to be said. People, in general, are deaf, dumb, and blind—my apologies to the deaf and blind.
We don't like to call it the war on terror. Bush likes to call it that. I like to call it stupid and pointless.
The war is not the only thing draining our economy. Gas prices, mismanagement, and stupid economic policies all contribute. For instance, how stupid is a country that spends millions on sending its inhabitants a letter telling them that they will get a check and not include the check in the letter!?
Actually, he's correct. If such a situation could occur, the iPhone would cost either person 13/50 of their income. He's not saying that the cost of the product is the same, but that it's cost relative to either individual is the same.
1000 to a person who makes 10000 a year is the same as 2000 to a person who makes 20000 a year. They are both 10%.
Generally, wages support the cost of living of an area. Europe's cost of living is higher, but so are its wages.
You need to pay attention to his scenario. It works for any case and any currency for the reason I stated above.
well, I meant the US as the US government, not as its whole population.... I know half of them didn't vote for Bush! But then again, no wonder if the dollar is so low: the US has hence discouraged imports and incouraged exports. What pisses me off is that even if oil is bought in dollars, gas prices keep skyrocketing in Europe... Oil companies are evil! let's ride the bike and use home made renewable energy!..
Following your argument, how much should the iPhone cost in India? 50-60 dollars?